See also Legislation | See also Regulations

There are two main types of bills: public and private. In general, a public bill is concerned with matters of public policy, while a private bill relates to matters of a particular interest or benefit to a person or persons, including corporations.

Before a bill becomes law, it goes through the following stages:

(1) a Member is given leave of the House to introduce the bill;
(2) the bill is read a first time and printed;
(3) the bill is read a second time;
(4) the bill is referred to committee;
(5) the bill is considered in committee and reported back to the House;
(6) the House concurs in the bill at report stage;
(7) the bill is read a third time and passed by the House;
(8) the bill goes through stages in the Senate approximately the same as those in the House;
(9) finally, the bill receives Royal Assent.

(source: Précis of Procedure, 5th Edition)